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Germany head coach and iconic former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp pushed back against Jamie Carragher's criticism of Reds midfielder Florian Wirtz, brushing off the well-known pundit as characteristically "nervous."
Carragher, who dedicated his entire playing career to the Merseyside club, laid into Liverpool's costly signing after a disappointing debut campaign was followed by an equally lackluster start to his second season.
Following another frustratingly quiet performance against Newcastle United — where Wirtz's most notable contribution was highlighting the dysfunction in Andoni Iraola's midfield setup — Carragher argued that the German international's current deployment simply "is not working."
"I'm not sure where he fits," the retired Champions League winner said alongside fellow Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville. "I almost thought you could tuck him into a pocket from the left, where he plays for Germany, but Iraola loves wingers — he wants players with energy up and down the flank.
"I don't think we're witnessing a huge underperformance. What we've seen over the past year is probably what he is — a tidy, composed footballer. Not a player who should command £110 million, more like someone worth £50–60 million." Klopp strongly disagreed.
"As a footballer, he's [Wirtz] beyond question — in my view and in everyone else's as well," Liverpool's former Premier League-winning boss told Sky Germany on Friday. "But Jamie Carragher, Gary Neville, and the rest — they're always the first to panic in England, of course."
Despite standing up for the creative midfielder, Klopp did offer a cautionary note for Wirtz — one that echoed the sentiments of Liverpool boss Iraola.
Klopp, Andoni Iraola Agree on Challenge for Wirtz
Both Klopp and Iraola subscribe to the high-pressing philosophy. As Liverpool's Basque manager acknowledged this week, his approach is "probably closer to Jürgen" than that of predecessor Arne Slot. If Wirtz wants to earn his place in either system, he must do exactly that: put in the hard yards.
"If you want to play for us, you have to be part of the counter-press," Klopp warned. "I had Shinji Kagawa playing at the 10 [attacking midfield]. He never won a single tackle and was still one of the best counter-pressing players I've ever worked with. It's not about physicality — it's about the desire to get involved."
Iraola is so determined to see his attackers press and chase the opposition that he almost anticipates them not lasting the full ninety minutes. "For me, wingers and forwards — I always tell them they don't need to give us 90 minutes," Liverpool's manager revealed this week. "I tell them it's actually good news when they're exhausted, because it means we've taken everything from them and someone else will step in."
"For attacking players, it's not essential that you play the entire match," Iraola added. "Once you're spent, we can make the substitution. I think that's the best approach, and they all need to embrace it."
Questions have lingered over Wirtz's ideal position, with Slot frequently fielding the slender attacker on the left flank. Klopp, however, maintained that his best role is centrally. "The challenge in football is — and this is the coach's responsibility — integrating talent and placing players in the positions where they truly excel," the German tactician explained.
"I think that, at the very least, Liverpool have absolutely understood where he actually needs to play. That's through the middle, of course — the half-spaces, the pockets where he thrives."
Iraola seems willing to give Wirtz the opportunity to flourish, and now it falls on the 23-year-old to step up. "But Flo also has to learn, of course," Klopp concluded. "He has to perform in a way that the coach never even considers taking him off. That's just the reality. We can't do that part for him."